"Some GNOME developers are planning to implement an app format that allows developers to provide their Linux programs in distribution-independent files that can be installed as easily as smartphone apps. A sandbox model is supposed to isolate the apps from each other, and from the rest of the system, in a way that goes further than the isolation in current Linux distributions. Various developers worked to conceptualise such "Linux apps" at the GNOME Developer Experience Hackfest, which was held in the run-up to FOSDEM 2013 in Brussels. At the hackfest, the GNOME developers also declared JavaScript as the de-facto standard for GNOME programming." Right, because they haven't alienated enough of their users.

This is perhaps the only good idea I've seen come out of GNOME 3. Hey wait a minute, didn't I propose that GNOME do exactly that a few years ago here on OS News?

I can only hope that other desktops take to this wonderful idea. Finally, we can begin to move away from "The Unix Way" and really start pushing things forward. Now if they would only do something about that bug with case sensitivity on the filesystem...